Yesterday marked the beginning of the first weekend of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament – perhaps the greatest long weekend in sports. The tournament always produces great stories, and many of them focus on the coaches. It may be a legendary coach like Rick Pitino, who survived personal tragedy and scandal and took Louisville to the 2013 NCAA title, his first since he won with intrastate rival Kentucky in 1996.
Or it may be an unknown coach leading an underdog team. Last year, there was Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield, who left a lucrative business career to become a basketball coach. Enfield led the Eagles, a 15 seed, to victories over 2nd-seeded Georgetown and 7th-seeded San Diego State, becoming the first 15 seed in history to reach the “sweet” round of sixteen. ā
Many of these coaches are great leaders and motivators, and we business leaders can learn a lot from their insight.
“Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer.”–Rick Pitino
What will be the great story of the 2014 tournament?
